Quick History of Magento
Magento was launched in 2008 by Roy Rubin and Yoav Kutner. It was a quick success because of the level of customization it offered as an ecommerce solution. Just two years later, eBay bought 49% of the company. A year later, eBay purchased the rest. After eBay and PayPal split in 2015, Magento became an independent company again.
Adobe acquired Magento in 2018 for $1.68 billion, proving the company’s worth and assuring its future in the ecommerce space.
Today, Magento continues as both an open-source project with a vibrant community and a full-service ecommerce platform for medium and large businesses as Adobe Commerce.
Why Is Magento So Popular?
Magento contains many great eCommerce website features and has a very loyal user base in its open source community. Huge companies have used Magento and Adobe Commerce to build their ecommerce stores.
What makes Magento one of the most popular platforms for ecommerce?
- Magento is customizable in the extreme. A certified Magento developer can probably design custom solutions that meet your business requirements, even if these seem really specific or difficult.
- Magento is regularly updated. The open source community rolls out updates often and the paid version is a major Adobe product with regular updates and improvements.
- Magento is great for SEO. Magento uses an enhanced XML sitemap, gives users complete control over all their meta data, uses independent navigation links, allows category page navigation customization, and can be deployed for super fast websites. All these are massive benefits for search engine optimization.
- Magento is designed for multi-channel sales. Managing multiple stores through a single backend is simpler with Magento. Many people switch for this reason alone.
Which Companies Use Magento?
Here is a list of some of the high-end Magento websites:
- Bed, Bath, and Beyond
- Canon
- Christian Louboutin
- Chrysler
- Coca-Cola
- Ford
- HP
- Jaguar
- Land Rover
- Nestle Nespresso
- Nikeo
- Oakleyo
- Olympus
- Omega
- Rossignol
- Vizio
- Warby Parker
Magento ecommerce solutions work for all these stores, but also for thousands of smaller companies. Its flexibility and features make it one of the most popular platforms across many industries.
What Is the Difference Between Magento 1 and Magento 2?
Magento 2 is the latest version of Magento. It comes with many upgraded features such as security, performance, scalability, etc. Many people consider Magento 2 to be far more powerful than Magento 1.
Let’s explore how Magento 1 and 2 compare in a variety of subjects.
Architecture
Magento 2 has more technologies that improve website performance and customization than previous versions. The Magento developers replaced the old technology stack with a new one for Magenta 2. This is why migrating to the new platform requires more than just a simple act of data transfer.
Here are a few upgrades in Magento 2 that you will not find as a part of Magento 1:
- Composer – allows you to reuse third-party libraries without dealing with source code, reduces extension conflicts
- NGINX – serves as a reverse proxy, HTTP cache, and load balancer
- Redis – uses database cache and broker for messages
- Symfony – make content control easier, improves functionality and website appearance
- Varnish – increases website speed
Website Performance
Magento 1 struggled with speed and performance. Magento 2 was welcomed by the Magento community because of the improvements to speed. It features faster loading times and reduced server response times. There are more extensions to improve speed and performance for ecommerce websites.
Magento 2 also offers more control over content and website design. This enables business owners to develop sites that maximize performance on desktop and mobile devices.
Optimization for Mobile
Magento 2 features more mobile-friendly, responsive themes and an improved checkout experience. These are big benefits for mobile users. Magento 2 also supports Progressive Web Apps. Magento PWA allows developers to build custom apps for their mobile users that include all the major features of any site to create a seamless customer experience across every sales channel.
Using Magento’s Admin Panels
Magento 2 took a major step forward with an improved admin panel. The new panel is easier to navigate and features a customizable dashboard that shows key information. By default, you can see:
- New orders
- Last orders
- Average orders
- Lifetime retail sales
- Top search keywords
- Income tax
- Bestsellers
You can customize these widgets to display other data more appropriate for your website.
Checkout
The Magento 1 checkout process was too long, with six steps that gave too many steps. This seemed like poor customer service and damaging for conversion rates. Magento 2 commerce reduced this to only two steps. Customers are also offered more payment methods and faster payment options. The faster checkout and fewer steps should improve the conversion rate for any ecommerce business shifting to Magento 2.
Security
The company does not support Magento 1 any longer, so it may begin to face security issues due to lack of updates and patches. Magento 2, on the other hand, is regularly updated. The Magento community improves security regularly for the open source version. Adobe Commerce customers also receive top-notch security and upgrades.
PCI compliance is managed by each customer, but should be easy to implement on any website.
Extensions
Overlapping extensions caused problems in Magento 1, but the Magento developers resolved this problem in Magento 2. Extensions can now overlap without creating the same level of conflict. However, installing too many extensions can still cause performance and usability issues, much the same as any other platform.
Customer Support
Magento 1 is not supported by the developers any longer. Magento 2 has full support and new articles are published on the Magento blog,Adobe Commerce Blog, and on numerous other Magento blog sites. Magento Community Edition, the open source project, has great peer support. Magento Enterprise customers get their support through Adobe.
If you’re ready to migrate to Magento 2, read our guide to understand the process.
Magento 2 Editions
Magento Open Source (Magento CE)
Magento Community Edition changed names to Magento Open Source, but the product is still much the same. While this version is free, its features may be too limited for some store owners. Extra items, such as domain costs, development, hosting, and 3rd party extensions may increase the cost.
Magento Commerce (Magento EE),
Magento Commerce is now Adobe Commerce. It was also previously known as Magento Enterprise Edition. Adobe Commerce is a full-service solution supported by Adobe. It comes with a hefty price tag, but can contain many features that are absolutely critical for a successful ecommerce store.
Magento Open Source vs. Magento Commerce
Magento Open Source is free and perfect for many businesses. To get the most from it, you’ll probably hire a freelancer or employee who can develop and support your site.
Here are some top features you get with a Magento Community Edition license:
- App Marketplace Access
- Architecture and Security
- Basic Analytics and Reporting
- Basic Site Search
- Catalog Browsing
- Catalog Management
- Customer Accounts
- Flexible Couponing and Promotions
- Full Page Caching System
- Instant Purchase
- Layout and Theming
- Mobile Optimized Shopping
- Support for Multiple Languages
- Multiple Store Views
- Order Management
- Product Configurations
Adobe Commerce provides many more features for its price. It is very well-equipped for medium and large businesses ready to create omnichannel customer experiences.
Here are some reasons businesses continue to invest in Adobe Commerce:
- Access to Quick Design-Build Express Packages
- Adobe Sensei AI-Powered Product Recommendations
- Advanced Content Management
- Advanced Site Search
- Gift Cards
- Integrated B2B Features
- Magento Account Manager
- Magento Technical Support
- Reward Points
- Rules-Based Related Products
- Rules-based Upsells & Cross-sells
- Visual Merchandising
Magento Commerce On-Premise vs. Magento Commerce Cloud
There are actually two versions of Magento Commerce, too. Here’s a quick look at them:
Magento Commerce
Adobe Commerce is a big investment for stores, with prices starting from $22,000 per year. However, it is a big improvement over Magento 1 and the Community Edition because of the support and advanced features of the platform.
Magento Commerce Cloud
The Adobe Commerce Cloud is a full suite of tools that covers everything an expanding business will need for the next level of growth. This is Magento Enterprise but with even more support from the technical staff.
How Secure is Magento?
Magento, in all its forms, is a secure platform. The open source platform relies on its user base to spot flaws and suggest fixes. They are remarkably successful. Adobe Commerce, in all its software versions, provides regular security patches and fixes.
We think there are three big reasons Magento is a secure platform.
- Password management – Magento 2 uses SHA-256 hashing algorithms within its password management system. This keeps passwords secure even if the system is compromised. There are also tools for ensuring smooth password management by admins.
- Adaptable file permissions – Unlike a simple role-based access system, Magento 2 has a more sophisticated approach. Users can still be assigned roles, but these roles can be edited, customized, and expanded to meet your needs.
- Regular updates – Magento 2 is updated constantly. This happens in the Community Edition and in the Adobe Commerce versions. Development agencies can apply these updates to your site to keep everything secure.
Why choose Magento for an online business?
Magento 2 is a great choice for businesses, whether they use the open source version or opt for Adobe Commerce. We’ve created a list of the top seven reasons we think Magento could be a great choice for your online store.
The Open Source Version is Customizable and Flexible
The open source version of Magento is very flexible, and developers can add functionality to create the ultimate user experience. While adding new functions may require a developer, there are few things you can imagine that Magento can’t be made to do.
To be clear, Adobe Commerce and Commerce Cloud are also very flexible. Their flexibility is different, though. They work as part of a very powerful platform, so you can add services from a big menu of choices.
Highly Scalable
Magento and Adobe Commerce can grow as big as you need them. Even a simple installation with the basic features is capable of handling many products, As long as your hosting providers and hosting service permit, Magento can be scaled up to support millions of products and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Easy Integration of 3rd Party Services
Magento is capable of integrating with many different 3rd party services. Thanks to the Magento 2 open source community and support from the Magento forum, there are thousands of add-ons, extensions, and integrations you can put to use.
Adobe’s premium versions also feature integrations, but these focus on large-scale operations, such as your ERP, CRM, and CMS needs.
Built for Onmichannel Sales
Magento and Adobe Commerce support sales all over the world. Well-known brands use Magento for selling and shipping on multiple sites, to many countries, and as different brands. Support for multiple shipping methods, a localized experience on each site, and a specific checkout method or payment gateway for different countries is available.
Multiple Advanced Extensions
There are over 3,500 free and paid extensions available in the Magento marketplace. If the out-of-the-box features are not enough, then someone has probably created an extension to do what you need. These tools can help you build robust web stores with exclusive features. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in the verified extensions, then there are dedicated extension providers who can probably create this for you.
Excellent Mobile Optimization
Online shoppers prefer mobile devices. Magento makes it easier than ever to build a truly responsive platform to meet them. The platform supports HTML5 and CSS3. These enable automatic image and video adjustments so your site looks great on every device.
SEO-friendly Ecommerce Platform
Magento SEO is getting better than ever. You can customize URLs, tags, and product descriptions easily. There is a search terms section in Marketing for identifying search opportunities. Magento also integrates with the leading 3rd party SEO tools to help you even more.
